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Security now five per cent of IT budget

Spending on security during 2003 will exceed five per cent of companies' IT budgets for the first time, according to analysts.

Gartner said that the increase means that security budgets will have grown at a compound annual rate of 28 per cent since 2001, compared with just six per cent for IT budgets as a whole over the same period.

"The focus on critical infrastructure protection means that the government, utilities, transportation and energy sectors will be forced to spend more on security," said John Pescatore, vice president and research fellow at Gartner.

"In addition, increased enforcement of copyright laws and liability concerns will force universities to increase security spending. These vertical industries will be the most attractive targets for security vendors."

An overall increase in IT spending is occurring, but Gartner analysts explained that this does not give security organisations carte blanche to spend freely.

In fact, enterprise security organisations will be under pressure to control spending or face across-the-board cuts.

"Security spending cannot continue to consume ever-increasing portions of the IT budget. No enterprise can afford to spend more on insurance than on new product development," said Pescatore.